Obama got Mitt-slapped! We were treated to the president’s shallow understanding of economics, arrogant belief that he can say anything and the rubes will buy it, and Obama’s strange, yet oft repeated, business plan for the economy — which seems to be more education and hiring more teachers. Curious.

He returns to this again and again. Does he suppose that the lack of jobs is simply because people don’t have enough education? More than half of recent college graduates cannot find any job, and many are taking entry-level jobs in fast food. Yet his proposals for more education, improving education, more student loans, and more job training programs are not addressing the problem of unemployment.

It’s fairly clear that Obama has no idea how to help the economy to create jobs. Over the past four years, he again claimed, he has created 5 million new jobs. But it isn’t so. You have to subtract the numbers of people who have dropped out of the labor force. He is contemptuous of any suggestions that regulation is a problem, yet every organization of businesses counts overregulation as a major reason why they aren’t hiring. That, and plain old uncertainty. Businesses don’t know what is coming down from this administration tomorrow or the next day.

Mitt was in command. He was forceful, friendly and factual. He knows this stuff. Obama kept trying to claim that Governor Romney was not being specific, was keeping details “secret”, but made himself absurd. Explain the substitute for ObamaCare in 10 words or less? Mitt was ready to outline each of his proposals clearly and factually. It was an outstanding performance. He compared Obama’s continual repetition of false facts to his own five boys who thought if they just explained what they did over and over enough, Dad would eventually believe them. He politely compared Obama’s claims to those of an adolescent boy.

Mitt explained quite specifically how he was going to get the economy growing again, by restoring confidence, removing overregulation, opening up energy, reducing the job-killing effects of ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank and other misguided direction for the economy.

Obama made it clear that he doesn’t even understand the health care bill that bears his name. The $716 billion he has taken out of Medicare to cut the official cost of ObamaCare has a huge effect on senior citizens who, because that is a cut in what medical providers are paid, means that many seniors may be unable to find a doctor who will see them. That is a very big deal. Mitt brought up the Independent Pay Advisory Board, and Obama clearly has no understanding of what that is or what it does. It is an unelected and unaccountable rationing board that will decide what you cannot have because it costs too much. So you are 78? Sorry, it’s not cost effective for people that old.

Bill Maher said “Maybe Obama does need a teleprompter.” That kind of sums it up.